The Soldier
by Knowing Grace
Summary: I am The Soldier. I have no name. I serve no country. I have no past and no future. I have no dreams, nothing I aspire to. There is only the next mission and the next and the next...there is nothing else.


**This is for my cousin who asked *cough, cough* demanded *cough, cough* that I write her a Marvel-verse story. And since one of her favourite characters is Bucky Barnes, I went with it.**

 **Clearly I don't own _Captain America_ or his companions-boo hoo-and this is written for enjoyment purposes only. No money is being made from this tale, so please don't sue me. All recognizable quotes come from **_Captain America: the First Avenger_ **or** _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ **. Anything unrecognizable came from my own imagination. I know, it's weird in there.**

 **This is the final fight scene from _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ , but from Bucky's perspective, and it's much more interesting than I just made it sound. xD**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Soldier**

 **By Knowing Grace**

I am The Soldier. I have no name. I serve no country. I have no past and no future. I have no dreams, nothing I aspire to. There is only the next mission and the next and the next...there is nothing else. If someone gets in my way, I put them down. Permanently. It's as simple as that. But this man—my newest mission—dressed in red, white, and blue, just won't stay down. No matter how many times I throw him, punch him, stab him, shoot him, he climbs back up and plants himself like a tree in front of me, as if daring me to try harder. If it was only that I could have dealt with him easily, but not only does he keep getting back up, he also won't stop talking.

"You know me." he says, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the broken metal floor of the Helicarrier.

A tiny flicker of something enters my mind.

 _Blue eyes._

 _ **The mission. The mission. The mission!**_

I drive my metal fist into the side of my opponent and grin when I hear the corresponding _crack_ when one of his ribs gives way under the pressure. "No I do _not_!"

The man doesn't go down. "Yes," he pants, gripping his injured flank, "yes, you do. Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, and you and I have known each other our whole lives."

A flash.

 _Sergeant Barnes, 32557038—_

 _**No! I have no name. The mission. The mission. The miss—**_

"Shut-UP!" I shove him backwards, but there's little power in the movement. Instead, I'm fighting, fighting like mad as a slew of images flit before my mind's eye, searing my brain.

 _A little guy using a garbage can lid as a shield. "I can do this all day."_

 _A grin._

 _A pair of determined blue eyes. "Bucky, Bucky! There are men laying down their lives..."_

 _A chasm of fire._

 _A shield with stripes and a white star in the center._

 _Those eyes again, but the body's different...taller, more solid somehow._

 _"Go! Get out of here!"_

 _**The mission!**_

He tugs off his mask and I look into those same eyes. "You're my friend."

 _ **I have no friends. I'm a soldier...I'm a soldier...**_

 _A salute._

 _"Don't win the war till I get there!"_

 _Marching into camp._

 _"Let's hear it for Captain America!"  
_

I swipe his feet out from under him and he goes down. I crawl on top of him, hitting him over and over again. "You are my mission."

 _Punch_.

"You are,"

 _Punch._

"my,"

 _Punch._

"MISSION!"

Something wet trickles down my cheek. Sweat? Tears?

 _ **The miss—**_

"Finish it." His right eye is nearly swollen shut, only a sliver of blue can be seen. "'Cause I'm with you...to the end of the line."

 _Cold._

 _Snow._

 _A train._

 _"Bucky! Bucky, hold on!"_

 _Reaching out._

 _The metal bar breaks._

 _I'm falling._

 _I'm falling._

 _I'm falling._

And then the floor gives out from under us. I latch hold of something, anything to stay aboard. And this time he's falling.

Falling.

 _"Nooooo!"_

His body hits the water and I can't see him anymore.

 _ **The...mission...?**_

Another flash.

 _A bar._

 _Half drunken troops singing in the background._

 _Those blue eyes._

 _A smile._

Without thinking it through, I dive into the water, debris rains down around me.

Searching.

Searching.

Come on, where are you—gotch ya! I grab a handful of blond hair and tug. Up. Up. Up, until we both breach the surface. I suck in a lungful of air and immediately cough as the acrid smoke burns the lining of my throat. The man is unmoving, dead weight in my arms. I drag us both out of the water and onto the muddy bank.

Is he alive?

His chest rises ever so slightly. Blood begins to pool under his prone form.

I scramble to my feet and take one more look at him.

 _ **My mission?**_

 _"You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?"_

 _I smiled and punched him lightly on the arm._

 _"Hell no. But that little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight? I'm following him."_

"Steve!" A woman's voice. They're coming for him.

Turning on my heel, I walk away.

I am James Buchanan Barnes. I no longer have a country. My past is a blur, my future is uncertain. Do I have a dream, something I aspire to? Unclear. There is only the next mission. And the next mission is: who am I?

 **~ Finis**


End file.
